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Triology (Miles Black, Bill Coon & Jodi Proznick) f/ Scott Hamilton presents 'The Slow Road' out April 11, 2025 via Cellar Music Group The trio is one of the great configurations of music history. Dating back far before jazz began and continuing through jazz history, the trio is a timeless construct that emphasizes the necessity of teamwork while maintaining a flair for the virtuosic as each musician carries a greater responsibility due to the notably finite personnel. Triology, the Vancouver-based jazz trio that has been consistently performing since its inception in 2008, stands apart, even amongst trios, due to its instrumental combination of Miles Black on piano, Bill Coon on guitar, and Jodi Proznick on bass, without the presence of drums. Leaning heavily into the classic sounds of drummerless trios throughout jazz history such as the Nat King Cole, Oscar Peterson, and Ahmad Jamal trios, Triology creates and evokes a timeless, heavily swinging sound that immediately brings to mind the tone of the masters of days past. There is furthermore a great tradition within the lineage of jazz trios of inviting an established guest to join an established trio and watching utter magic happen. Producer Cory Weeds of Cellar Music approached Triology and proposed a collaborative album with saxophonist Scott Hamilton as a special guest throughout. The trio immediately accepted the proposal, resulting in The Slow Road, an integrated album of beloved and lesser-known standards and original compositions. In the spirit of legendary jazz configurations such as Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio, Joe Henderson with the Wynton Kelly Trio, and John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio, The Slow Road is arranged in such a way to emphasize counterpoint and swing to let the personalities of the trio and Hamilton’s acclaimed sound shine through, both individually as performers and in totality as a flawlessly intertwined unit. With the meeting of two such well-founded entities as Hamilton and Triology, the question at hand was a matter of deciding what music to curate so as to best highlight the unique strengths and personalities of each. In the spirit of collaborative creativity, Triology suggested that Hamilton create a list of standards to choose from and whittle down, while the band members of Triology would each compose one new piece to contribute to the recording. The end result is a refreshingly diverse spread of melody, harmony and arranging that keeps listeners on their toes while remaining unquestionably unified in styling and personality in every phrase. The Slow Road opens with “Luna, ” composed by the album’s bassist, Jodi Proznick, and stands as a contrafact to “How High The Moon”. A mesmerizing jazz waltz, “Luna” was lovingly inspired by the fictional character Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter novels, due to a family tradition in Proznick’s household of reading the books nightly that developed during the pandemic, bringing great joy in a time of uncertainty. These layers of meaning and memories allow the piece to shimmer with enchantment and nostalgia. As Proznick says, “Each bar waltzes with the moonlight, inviting listeners into a world that feels both familiar and fantastical.” One of the great highlights of the album is the ensemble’s performance of “Luiza” by Antonio Carlos Jobim. “Perhaps the biggest smiles came after we finished the Antonio Carlos Jobim classic, Luiza, ” guitarist Bill Coon recalls. “The emotion of the melody came through Scott’s tenor so clearly and so strongly that the band were fighting back tears when listening to the playback. Modest to a fault, all Scott would say was, ‘Is it okay?’” Far more than ‘okay’, this track stands as a potent testament to the four musicians’ incredible ability to listen in to each other and dig deeply into the wellspring of emotion within them. A lesser-recorded standard contemporarily, “I Thought About You” by Randy Weston is a piece that likewise leans into emotion, but in a different manner. Where the lyrics suggest heartbreak and past longing, the performance creates overtones turning heartbreak into celebration. This track opens with Jodi Proznick’s bass singing out the melody with a heft portion of groove in it before she is joined by Bill Coon’s guitar adding momentum with harmony. The baton is passed to Scott Hamilton, who lovingly takes charge of the melody. This musical relay continues as pianist Miles Black begins his solo with Hamilton’s final phrase, which eventually grows into an organic portion of trading between Hamilton and Black before Proznick returns melodically with her own solo, before closing in the final chorus with a restatement of the melody by Hamilton’s tenor, evoking some of the original emotion of the piece. In addition to “Luna, ” the other original compositions interspersed on The Slow Road are “Blues for Fraz, ” written by Miles Black, and the album’s title piece, “The Slow Road, ” written by Bill Coon. The former is that quintessential staple of jazz: a swinging, grooving, down-to-earth blues and is dedicated to Vancouver-based tenor saxophone player Fraser MacPherson. The album’s title track was composed while Bill Coon attended La Machina di San Cresci, an arts residence in Italy. This piece showcases the beauty and vivacity of both the scenery and people met during that residence. More than the pieces and more than even the instruments themselves, what stands out to a listener immediately on The Slow Road is the genuineness with which Triology and Hamilton interact musically. Like the earth and the moon eternally intertwined in their dance of gravity, perfectly keeping everything in harmony with one another, so do Triology and Hamilton’s sound, melodies, and ideations compliment each other. Truly, The Slow Road is set to stand as a milestone album in the annals of jazz history and as an eternal masterclass on the scintillating wonder of selfless collaboration. The Slow Road releases April 11, 2025 via Cellar Music Group. |
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